Outsider Chronicles: Resonance of the Shards
by Dis Lexic
Summary: A sound Soul dwells within a sound mind and a sound body. Considering that, who in the hell thought giving a character from Earth Bet the powers of a Weapon was a good idea? Especially when said Weapon is a bullied girl who wants nothing more than to be a Hero. Looks like I'm going to have my work cut out for me...
1. Chapter 1

Outsider Chronicles: Resonance of the Shards

A sound Soul dwells within a sound mind and a sound body. Considering that, who in the hell thought giving a character from Earth Bet the powers of a Weapon was a good idea? Especially when said Weapon is a bullied girl who wants nothing more than to be a Hero. Looks like I'm going to have my work cut out for me...

 **Well, this is an interesting idea. Its been skittering around in my head for a while and its only now I came up with an idea that'll work. I have an idea for an alternate take on this idea, but I'll do that later. For now, enjoy!**

Chapter 1

Soooo, my death was lame. I mean, getting killed by a box full of paint cans falling on your head isn't exactly something to brag about. I knew I hated art for a reason. Still, at least I got a new life out of it. Oh yeah, I ended up getting reincarnated. I'm still not entirely sure why, but after I died, I woke up again as a baby.

Growing up was simultaneously easy and incredibly frustrating. What? I'd like to see any of you sit through pre-school again without tearing your hair out. Still, I've learnt from my mistakes, so I got through school with no problems and high grades. Or at least, that was the plan. See, the world I had been reborn into wasn't exactly normal, not when there were people flying around in silly costumes. Yeah, I'd been reborn into a world full of crazy people with superpowers. Unfortunately, it wasn't a world like Marvel or DC where the Heroes always win. On no, I wasn't that lucky. The world I'd been reborn into was that of Worm.

* * *

Hmm, I think that someone might be playing with me. Why? Well, my mother happened to be best friends with one Annette Hebert and we lived just a few doors down from the Hebert residence, which meant that I grew up with Taylor and, a little later, Emma. Well, this ought to be interesting.

Interesting is right. Considering that we essentially grew up together and shared a good number of interests (Capes and books), its not really any surprise that Taylor and I became strong friends. She was closer with Emma, but I suspect thats mostly because they were both girls and some things girls did just didn't get done with a male friend.

Other than the inevitable desolation of Canon (because there's no fucking way I'm letting Taylor go through even half the shit she did), the first part of my life was fairly normal for a teen living in the supervillain capital of America. Honestly, the only interesting thing to mention was the fact that Mum was the one who smacked Danny out of his depression after Annettes death with the judicious use of a paper fan and a lot of alcohol.

Then, shortly before I was about to enter high school (Winslow unfortunately because I wasn't able to talk Taylor into getting into Arcadia when Emma was going to Winslow and I had no intention of leaving my best friend to the hell she was doomed to go through), I answered the door one night to find Taylor in tears.

"What happened?" I asked as I guided my friend into the living room.

Considering that she'd just got back from camp and I haven't heard from Emma in weeks, I could probably guess what the problem was. Taylor sniffed and slowly, weakly told me about her ill fated encounter with Emma and Sophia. By the time she was finished, she was in tears. I didn't say anything as I pulled her into my arms and let my friend cry herself out on my chest. I'd done this a few times in the weeks after Annette died and I hated every minute of it. Seeing Taylor crying like this never failed to make me angry and I knew I'd be having a pointed conversation with Emma very soon.

* * *

As it turned out, I was wasting my time. The day after Taylor arrived home and cried herself to sleep on me, I went over to the Barnes house to talk to Emma and promptly discovered that I was apparently one of the 'weaknesses' Emma was discarding. Even knowing what I did about Emma and what she'd become, it was still rather jarring to see the sneer on the normally smiling face of my old friend. It was at that point that I knew I was wasting my time. This wasn't an Emma who could be talked around and back to sanity. This was an Emma Sophia had got her claws in deep with. I might be able to do something at a later date, but for now, I was wasting my time.

"You know Emma, I pity you," I said as I turned to leave, "I don't know what happened, but if you believe that you can become strong by throwing away your friends, you're in for a very lonely life."

I shut the door before Emma could respond.

* * *

Then school started and, as you can imagine, shit hit the fan. It didn't take me long to establish the fact that trying to pick a fight was a horrible idea considering my family was one with a VERY long history of martial prowers and I'd been taught my family's fighting style from a very young age. That basically meant that the jocks who Emma's little possie tried to set on me tended to end up in the nurses office, first with bruses and then with broken bones once it became clear that they needed something a tad more permanent to remember the warning. I also made it a point to point out that if they tried anything with Taylor, I'd do even worse to them. Considering I'd scared the shit out of everyone who tried anything and the fact that they made it a point to try and attack me in an out of the way area, I didn't even get a whiff of trouble.

Unfortunately, while I had skills, a reputation and thick skin to allow any attempts at bullying me simply slide off me, Taylor wasn't so lucky and its not like I could just send the Bitches Three to the hospital either. Unlike the jocks, they'd have no problem turning that to their advantage and there was only so much I could do to help Taylor with the verbal bullying and things going missing. I was able to prevent Annette's flute from getting wrecked though by convincing Taylor that taking it to school was asking for the bitches to do something to it. Other than that, the only thing I could do was be her friend and offer her a shoulder to cry on or advice that was mostly ignored. Taylor and Danny had a better relationship than in Canon, but that didn't mean that the short time they had spent estranged after Annette's death had not caused some damage. It didn't help that Taylor had a bad case of teen angst and not wanting to be a burden syndrome.

Of course, while all this was going on, I was making plans to prevent the Locker incident from happening and land the Trio in some very hot water. I had no delusions of getting help from Winslow, not when Blackwell was doing everything in her power to keep the situation under the carpet and its not like I could just walk into the PRT HQ and tell them that Shadow Stalker was engaged in a bullying campaign that most definitely crossed the line into outright criminal without painting a massive target on my back. Even leaving an anonymous tip wasn't really an option considering Tinker and Thinker bullshit would almost certainly lead them back to me. I needed something solid, something I could nail all three bitches with and soon. Mainly because it was getting close to the Locker incident and I still had no idea what I was going to do to stop it.

* * *

Unfortunately, it seemed that my presence had changed something. I'm not sure what it was, but something had changed enough to change the Locker incident. Oh, it didn't stop it from happening, instead it brought it forwards.

The first indication that something was wrong was when Taylor didn't show up for class. Unfortunately, that wasn't entirely uncommon, but considering the lesson in question was the first of the day and computing at that, it was unusual. I knew she wasn't off sick because I'd walked in with her, although considering our lockers were on opposite sides of the school, she could have gone home in the intervening time between us parting ways and the first class. If she had, whatever happened must have been really bad.

I didn't figure out what was going on until I overheard a couple of the Trio's hanger ons whispering about something as I left second period and giggling.

"Hey, did you hear what happened to Hebert?" whispered one.

"Yeah, I was there," said the other, "You should have heard her scream! I think shes still stuck…"

It didn't take much to figure out what they were talking about and I immediately took off in the opposite direction to my next class. I ran through the halls as fast as I could, inwardly thanking the lazy janitors who didn't bother cleaning the floors as the lack of polish meant that I had plenty of traction on my shoes. I turned the last corner to the corridor where Taylors locker was, absently noticing the foul smell as I did, and…

 **Darknessspacetwistingmonstrocitiesashardhertlingtowardsme…**

The world momentarily vanished, replaced with a black void with only the vague outline of the walls and other parts of the school, through which I could see countless blue flames and one larger, dark purple one that seemed to be radiating rage and hate. I stumbled and the vision vanished, but not before I spotted a light pink orb of fire with small wings and a halo in the locker I identified as Taylors. I could feel the fear, the helplessness, the loneliness she was feeling radiating out of her like a sound. The sight made me speed up, my kick already in motion by the time I reached the locker. My heel hit the thin metal...and tore right through the locker door. OK, that was a little unexpected. I mean, I was stronger than average, but not that strong!

I decided to think about that later though as I took advantage of the unexpected damage and wrenched the door open, releasing a deluge of foul smelling black gunk, bugs...and a white halberd with a treble clef shaped counterweight at the end, evenly spaced holes going up the shaft and a crimson rose decoration on the blade. O...K. Why exactly did Taylor have a polearm in her locker? If the Bitches Three wanted to get her into trouble for having a weapon, there were easier ways than planting a fucking Halburd. More to the point, where was Taylor? I was sure I'd felt her in the locker (somehow), but there was no sign of her...unless…

I looked down at the Halberd. No, that can't be right. She couldn't have Triggered with the power to turn into a weapon...could she? I hesitantly reached out and wrapped my hand around the weapons haft...only to be immediately blasted off my feet as I felt Taylors emotions surge through me, all her fear, anger, frustration, loneliness, confusion and more. Good grief, she actually had turned into a weapon! How the fuck does that even work?!

I didn't get much chance to think on it though as the emotions I was feeling from Taylor suddenly focused and the Halberd started to glow with a bright pink light. Two seconds later, I found myself with an armful of sobbing, dirty, bleeding and Human Taylor. Fortunately, the hall was empty, so we didn't have to worry about either of us getting outed quite this early.

By this point, Taylor had passed out in my arms, so I reached into my pocket and pulled out my phone. After that, she would definitely need a visit to the hospital and I was making damned sure that the cops looked into this. I called an ambulance and, after gently putting Taylor down, made sure I got plenty of photos of the mess and the locker before anyone tried to clean it up. Once that was done, I hoisted Taylor onto my back and headed for the front doors.

* * *

Fortunately, the hospital wasn't actually that far from Winslow, so it didn't take long for the ambulance to arrive.

"What happened?" asked the paramedic as his colleagues checked Taylor over.

"I'm not entirely sure, but I pulled her out of her locker which had been filled with what looked like biowaste from the girls bathroom and left for some time," I said, "Probably over the weekend. There was also a fair amount of insects in there with her and I think she hit her head."

"Jesus," muttered the paramedic, "Who would do something like that?"

"I have a feeling I know," I growled, "Shes been bullied for a while, but nothings ever been done and I just know the school will be brushing this under the rug if they can."

"WHAT?!" spluttered the paramedic, "But...this is aggravated assault at best! Hell, I'd even go so far as to say that a good lawyer would be able to bump it up to attempted murder!"

I scowled.

"Oh believe me, I know," I said, "I bet the mess and any evidence will have mysteriously gone missing by the end of the day. Fortunately, I got some pictures and I'm going to hand them over to the cops with the notes Taylor and I have been taking on whats been going on. I doubt it'll hold up in court, but it'll be enough to at least get the school district interested in whats going on."

"I'll help you," growled the paramedic, "If my daughter went through that…"

He shook his head.

"I probably shouldn't offer this, but do you want to come along?" he asked, "I doubt you'll actually stay here if you don't and having someone familiar nearby if she wakes up will stop her from panicking."

I nodded and followed the paramedic into the ambulance.

* * *

Twenty minutes later saw me sat next to Taylor's bed, listening to the beep of the monitoring machines. Surprisingly, she wasn't in that bad shape, which I think might have been a result of her Triggering, but she was still unconscious. Frankly, I can't blame her. I'd just got off the phone from my Parents who, although not happy that I was skipping, were absolutely furious about what happened to Taylor. Taylor had begged me not to tell anyone about it, so, reluctantly, I hadn't told my parents about it either, but after this...yeah, I couldn't hold it back any more. Besides, someone needed to stop Danny from running off to kill the Bitches Three, Blackwell or Alan Barnes after all and Mum was definitely the person to do that.

Still, they wouldn't be here for a bit and Taylor was still out of it, so I had some time to kill. With that in mind, I thought back to what had happened in school. Somehow, I had been able to see...something for a brief moment and had been strong enough to bust the metal door in one kick, something I wasn't strong enough to do before. With that in mind, the only logical conclusion was that I'd Triggered to and had some kind of sensing ability and at least low level Brute powers. I couldn't check the latter here, but maybe…

I took a deep breath, closed my eyes and focused, trying to call up the strange power again. Then, I opened my eyes and gasped. Whatever I'd done, it had worked and I was suddenly sensing the presence of everyone in the building. I couldn't see flames through the walls like I the glimpse I got at school, but I could see the fist sized blue flames burning in the chests of the people walking past Taylors room through the door. I frowned. Why did all of this look vaguely familiar? I'm sure I'd seen the orbs somewhere before, but I couldn't put my finger on it.

Then, I looked down at Taylor and saw the flame in her chest with its angelic wings and halo and it clicked into place. Somehow, I was seeing and sensing the Souls of those around me. The power I'd gained was Soul Perception! That was...crazy!

I frowned. Then again, it did make a certain amount of sense. I'd Triggered at roughly the same time as Taylor, who could turn into a Weapon and apparently had a Grigori Soul if what I was reading was right and people who Triggered at the same time tended to have similar powers, right? So with that in mind, if Taylor was a Weapon, that made me the Meister. Hmm, I wonder how deep these powers went? Would we be capable of Soul Resonance? I had to wonder what something like that would do to a Parahuman, particularly if I could use Witchhunter through Taylor? Considering that she seemed to have a Scythe part, it wasn't impossible.

Suddenly, I was jolted from my thoughts as Panacea walked through the door and my eyes went wide. My Soul Perception was still active, which gave me an excellent view of the girls Soul. It was much larger than anyone else in the hospital and bone white with a red cross on the front. It was certainly strong and was giving out a Wavelength that was nearly identical to the cruel one I'd felt at school, which I was now nearly certain was Sophia's, although Panacea felt more like resigned annoyance than barely held anger. Hmm, I think I can detect Parahumans with my Soul Perception. Note to self, do NOT tell anyone about this.

"Hello, I'm Panacea," said Panacea, sounding exhausted, "I understand your a friend of her?"

She indicated to Taylor.

"Thats right," I said as I shut off my Soul Perception, "Her Fathers on his way…"

"TAYLOR!"

"Never mind, hes here," I said as Danny came bursting into the room, ignoring both me and Panacea as he skidded to a stop next to Taylors bed and grabbed her hand.

"Sorry we're late," said Mum as she followed at a more sedated pace, "It took a while to convince him not to try and kill someone."

"Yeah, I can imagine," I said, "Did you get what I asked?"

Mum nodded and handed me a bag that held a good number of notebooks, many of which were stuffed with bits of paper.

"Ta," I said.

"Do I want to know what they are?" asked Mum.

"Yep, there for you," I said with a grin, "Evidence of an excessive, very long and very ignored bullying campaign that nearly ended in the death of the victim to take to the school board and, unless I'm very much mistaken, makes them a prime target for legal action."

Did I mention that my Mums a lawyer? Yeah, she even worked for the same firm as Brandish and Mr Barnes and her field was neglectful damage, usually directed at neglectful employees, but I dare say that she'd be happy to go after Winslow with both barrels.

Mum raised an eyebrow and started flipping through one of the books. Within moments, her eyebrows came together in a frown that I knew from experience meant that someone was going to get nailed to the wall.

"Yep, that'd do it," she said, "Thanks Roy."

She turned to Danny, who had taken an empty seat next to Taylor and was watching anxiously as Panacea did her thing.

"Danny, we need to talk," she said.

I hid a smirk as the two adults moved away and started whispering. Something told me I'd just made life very difficult for Winslow. Now I just had to figure out how best to talk to Taylor about our compatible powers. That was going to be a fun conversation…

 **And done. Well, that was a mild pain in the arse. Fun though.**

 **The original plan was to have Roy be the Weapon and Taylor the Meister, but at some point, that switched when I realized that Taylor would probably be the better option. Same principle though.**

 **For those interested, Taylors weapon form is the same as Tsugumi's from NOT, simply because I like the design. I originally intended to create something that referenced Taylors canon power, but I couldn't come up with anything that didn't look like something Arachne would make. Shes also got a Grigori Soul because flying powers are cool.**

 **Roy on the other hand has all the powers of a Meister, on top of a slight Brute rating, enough that he can easily jump around on rooftops without issue, tank a ton of damage and hit with enough force to break bone. He can also use Soul Force.**

 **I don't have any plans for anything else from Soul Eater to appear, so no Witches, no Kishin and no collecting Souls, although Taylor is definitely capable of it. I briefly toyed with the idea of Death putting in an appearance, but eventually decided against it. I might change my mind back at some point though.**

 **And with that, I'm done. Don't forget to leave a review on your way out!  
**

 **EDIT! Changed the design of Taylors weapon form.**


	2. Chapter 2

Outsider Chronicles: Resonance of the Shards

A sound Soul dwells within a sound mind and a sound body. Considering that, who in the hell thought giving a character from Earth Bet the powers of a Weapon was a good idea? Especially when said Weapon is a bullied girl who wants nothing more than to be a Hero. Looks like I'm going to have my work cut out for me...

 **And we're back. Since I can't be arsed to cover training, emotional talks and shit, this picks up after Taylor gets out the hospital. Oh, and I made some changes to Taylors weapon form in the last chapter. Enjoy!**

Chapter 2

" **This is so weird!"** moaned Taylor as I spun her around, getting a feel for the weight of the weapon and enjoying the soft melody that rang out as the wind rushed over the holes in the shaft.

It had been a month since the Locker and Taylor was finally out of hospital, which meant that I had been able to talk to her about our Triggers and new powers. It had taken a bit to convince her that, yes, she could turn into a weapon, but after she got annoyed and accidentally cut my standing lamp in half, her arguments quickly dried up. Now we were at the Ship Graveyard, trying to get a feel for how best to fight.

It quickly became apparent that Taylor was utterly useless in a fight on her own. Oh, she could change her body parts into weapons, but she had no idea how to fight and her body was still baseline Human. Then, I had her transform and let me give it a shot and quickly proved that Maka was right on the money about Meisters and Weapons being two fighting as one. The second I grabbed her out of the air, my mind synchronised with Taylors and, despite having never fought with a Halberd before, I found that I could spin her around as if I'd been doing it for years.

"Cool though," I said as I grabbed Taylor's shaft and lashed out with a stab that put a hole through a bit of rusted metal.

" **True,"** said Taylor, **"Although I'm still not sure how I feel about being 'used' by someone else like this."**

"Ah, but I'm not just using you, am I?" I said as I cut another chunk of metal in half, "We're fighting together. Weapon and Meister, two fighting as one."

Taylor snorted.

" **Yeah, that sounds good, but its not like you really need me,"** she grumbled.

"Whats that supposed to mean?" I asked.

" **I've seen you training,"** said Taylor, **"You always make fighting look so easy and now you have that Brute ability and sensing power. I, on the other hand, can only turn into a stupid weapon. I can't even fight the bullies on my own! How pathetic is that…"**

I sighed. Ever since Danny and Mum had started working to nail Winslow and the Bitches Three to the wall with litigation (helped along by Brandish, who I think had put two and two together and realized that Shadow Stalker was using her status as a Ward to avoid trouble) and Taylor had found that I'd told both sets of parents everything, she'd been rather down. I think that a big part of it had been the fact that she suddenly realized that she could have easily done something about her issues if she had just remembered that Emma wasn't the only one with legal connections and Mum was a lot more experienced in this sort of thing than Alan Barnes. Scarier too, especially when she went into Mama Bear Mode.

Combine that with the fact that she now had powers but no real way to actually use them on her own and my own, much more impressive power set and her self confidence had taken a rather impressive hit.

"Well, to be fair, you're not wrong," I said as I rested Taylor across my shoulders, "I could go out and be a Hero on my own..."

There was a flash of light and an upset looking Taylor appeared next to me.

"Then why don't you?!"she demanded, looking close to tears, "Damn it Roy, why don't you just go out on your own?!"

She stomped a few feet away and dropped down onto a hunk of metal. I narrowed my eyes as I eyed my friend. That...hadn't just been about the difference between the 'usefulness' of our powers and skill levels. No, that had been building for a while and it was just this latest wrinkle that had caused Taylor to erupt.

"Your so strong," said Taylor softly, "You were able to get everyone to back off when they targeted you for being my friend, you can ignore just about anything said about you and now you're strong enough to dent metal without breaking a sweat and thats without mentioning how smart you are…"

She muttered something under her breath that I didn't quite catch, although for some reason I got the feeling I should be blushing right about now. I shoved that thought aside for now though as Taylor turned to me, tears shining in her eyes.

"You could do anything, be friends with anyone at school if you dropped me, but instead you stuck with me, the gawky, ugly girl who can't even be a Cape on her own thanks to this stupid power! Why do you do it Roy? What can you possibly get out of being my friend?! Why do you want to work with me when all I can do is be a worthless lump of metal?!"

I stared at Taylor for a moment as I tried to absorb the rant. Than, I closed my eyes and took a deep breath.

"Stellar...CHOP!"

WHAM!

Taylor yelped as she fell over backwards, clutching her now throbbing head where I'd just chopped her with a good portion of my strength.

"Damn it Taylor, I thought you knew me better than that!" I yelled, "We've known each other since we were in nappies for gods sake! You are my best friend and there is no way in hell that I'd drop you as a friend over something as stupid and petty as high school politics. Besides, who at Winslow would I want to be friends with? Most people there are either in gangs or high half the time and those that aren't just aren't the sort of people I want to hang around with."

I knelt down in front of Taylor and put my hands on her shoulders.

"And I want to work with you because, no matter how strong I am alone, I'll always be stronger with you," I finished.

"Huh?"

I smirked.

"I'm skilled and strong, but my enhancements are only just out of normal Human range," I said, "Fine for dealing with thugs, but against other Parahumans, I'd be shredded."

"O...K, but what can I do to help with that that a normal weapon couldn't?"asked Taylor.

My smirk widened into a grin.

"Transform and I'll show you," I said.

Taylor frowned, but did as I asked. I caught the Demon Halberd as the glow from her transformation faded and spun her around.

"Alright, first things first," I said as I walked over to a nearby ship, "Let me show you what my Striker power can do on its own."

I flexed my fingers as pale blue energy sparked around them and slammed my palm into the metal. There was a loud clang and the side of the ship cratered as if hit by a massive hammer.

" **If this is supposed to make me feel better, its not working,"** grumbled Taylor.

I grinned.

"It will," I said, "Now, focus on matching my energy like we did when we first teamed up."

Taylor frowned in her reflected image on her blade, but closed her eyes and focused. I did the same, feeling out with my Soul Wavelength. It took about half a minute, but eventually, we got it and out Souls started to Resonate. I grinned as I felt my power starting to go up as a wind began to kick up around me and Taylors blade started to glow.

"You wanted to see what we can do when working together," I said as I opened my eyes and widened my stance, "Well let me show you!"

I spun Taylor, creating a glowing edged disk for a moment, before I caught her already drawn back and ready to swing. Her blade changed shape, the axe and spear portions shrinking as the scythe expanded until it was longer than my arm.

" **Soul Resonance,"** I said as our Resonance reached its peak and erupted into a blast of wind and pale blue light, **"Ultimate Skill of the Scythe Meister."**

Another flash of light and Taylors blade transformed into a massive crescent of energy. I gritted my teeth as I felt the massive amount of energy surging out of control. I wouldn't be able to hold this for long, not without practice and it certainly wouldn't be at full strength. However, it'd do its job and prove that we'd be a lot better off working together than me going out on my own. Plus, since our Souls were resonating, I could feel Taylor's emotions and she could feel mine. I sharpened my focus and stepped forwards, twisting into a powerful downslash with Taylor.

" **WITCH HUNTER!"**

The effect was immediate. Because I couldn't properly hold the energy of our Resonance, it all surged out with my cut, resulting in a massive blast of blue energy that sliced my target ship clean in half, along with the one behind it and out into the bay, carving a deep trench in the water and throwing a huge gaiser of water that reached half way out across the bay and was probably visible from the other side of the city.

" **HOLY FUCKING SHIT!"**

I grinned at Taylor's startled yelp.

"You see?" I said, "Your far more than a weapon."

" **H-how…"**

"Near as I can tell, your a power amplifier," I said, "The relationship between our powers is like an electric guitar and an amplifier. By myself, I can only create a small amount of energy, but by resonating with you, we can amplify that energy from strong enough to dent metal to, well…"

I indicated to the destroyed ships. Taylor remained silent, apparently trying to absorb the devastation our attack had caused.

"So, still think your useless?" I asked softly.

" **I...alright, you've made your point,"** said Taylor, **"But don't you think we should get out of here? Thats going to have drawn a fair bit of attention and we're not exactly in costume."**

I blinked.

"Ah, good point," I said.

I turned on my heel and sprinted away from the scene of the crime, Taylor tucked safely under my arm.

* * *

" **Hey Roy,"** said Taylor softly as I ran across the rooftops in the direction of the Boardwalk.

"Hmm?"

" **I think I love you."**

I tripped over my own feet and faceplanted the roof.

 **I feel a bit guilty for leaving it there, but I have a strong feeling I'll be back at this in no time. Oh well, CLIFFHANGERS HOOOOO!**

 **So yeah, this chapter was mostly because I wanted to work out some of Taylor's inevitable angst before we got into any fights. I actually planned to do a fight in this chapter, but it didn't really work out.**

 **Yes, Roys full name is Roy Stellar. See if you can guess what I'm going for with that name. Speaking of Stellar, would you lot like to see a Megaman Starforce/Worm story? Cus I have a few ideas for that. In fact, thats next on the list.**

 **Oh, and before anyone brings up the fact that Roy calls out his attack names, I'm not going to be stopping that. Its way too much fun.**

 **Just to be clear, that blast was a one off. Witch Hunter is a powerful attack, but mostly Roy will be using it to enhance his attacks, like how Maka does. That one was to make a point about how powerful he and Taylor are when working together.**

 **I might be jumping the gun a bit with Taylor's little admission at the end there, but think about it. Roy is her oldest friend, the one who stuck with her through it all and was always there for her. Plus, she just got to literally share Souls with him. Combine all that together and its a powerful emotion bomb. Plus, I don't feel like messing around with this paring.**

 **And with that, its time for me to sign out. Don't forget to leave a review!**


	3. Chapter 3

Outsider Chronicles: Resonance of the Shards

A sound Soul dwells within a sound mind and a sound body. Considering that, who in the hell thought giving a character from Earth Bet the powers of a Weapon was a good idea? Especially when said Weapon is a bullied girl who wants nothing more than to be a Hero. Looks like I'm going to have my work cut out for me...

 **And we're back. Now, lets see if I can pull off this fluff without sounding like an idiot. Enjoy!**

Chapter 3

I ignored the throbbing in my nose as I pushed myself back up and stared at the polearm in my hands in shock.

"Where the hell did that come from?" I asked in a strangled voice.

No, really, where the fuck did that come from?! I mean, I'll fully admit to being as dense as any other bloke when it comes to a womans feelings, but I'd never even seen any hint that Taylor felt anything more than friendship towards me, even in hindsight!

Taylor's blade pinked slightly, before she transformed back to Human form sat in front of me. Her head was down so her long hair hid her face, but I could still see that her ears were bright red and she was awkwardly playing with the hem of her shirt. Even a complete idiot could see that she was horribly embarrassed, not that I could really blame her. I could feel that my own face was burning just as brightly as hers. This was going to be really awkward.

"Taylor…"

"I've always admired you," said Taylor, cutting me off before I could say anything, "Even when we were kids. You were always so good at everything you tried and even when you failed, you just kept going. No matter what, you always succeeded. I wanted to be like you, confident and strong enough to plow straight through my problems."

I winced. The only reason I could do that was the extra life rattling around in my head. Well, that and the fact I could kill a man in about 30 different ways with my bare hands. My family might not be cold blooded murderers any more, but that didn't change the fact that our family style was originally meant for assassination. Not that I'd ever tell Taylor either of those things if I could help it. Finding out your best friend/apparent love interest was technically a highly trained killer could turn a person's head to say nothing of the fact that your technically a fictional character.

"You've always been there for me," continued Taylor, "When Mom died and with Emma and the bullying, you were always there to give me a shoulder to cry on and someone to talk to. I...I was always afraid that you might follow Emma, but you never did."

I decided not to point out that I technically wasn't Emma's friend before her betrayal. Oh, we got on fine for the most part, but the only thing we had in common was our friendship with Taylor.

"Alright, I guess thats fair enough for a reason," I said, my head still spinning, "But why tell me now?"

Taylor swallowed and drew her knees up to her chest.

"Because I nearly died," she said miserably, "If you hadn't got me out of...that place, I would have died in there. Hell, if they hadn't done that, I probably would have reached my limit before the end of the school year the way things were going, even with your help. I...I didn't even realize how I felt about you until I nearly died! I've already got to many regrets and considering what the mortality rates for new Capes are, I don't want any more…"

She seemed to shrink deeper into herself.

"I know your probably not interested in a flat, ugly girl like me, but I had to tell you," she said in a small voice, "Please don't hate me…"

I stared at her for a moment. The amount of angst and lack of self confidence in that last statement was downright horrifying. I knew that the bullying had done a number on her self confidence, but I didn't know it was this bad. On the other hand, I knew exactly how to counter it.

I smiled softly and gently chopped her on the head.

"Idiot, why would I hate you for that?" I asked as Taylor looked up in surprise, "And you should have more faith in yourself. Despite what those vapid girls at school say, you ARE beautiful."

Taylor blushed and looked away. My smile widened slightly.

"Besides, isnt it up to me to decide if I'm interested or not?"

Taylor's head snapped around fast enough that I'm surprised I didn't hear a crack.

"I...you...wha…"

I couldn't help it, I burst out laughing at the look on her face.

"So Taylor, would you give this humble Meister the honour of being my girlfriend?" I asked with a wide grin as soon as my mirth was gone.

Taylor immediately went crimson and started stuttering, which certainly didn't help my amusement. Unfortunately, before she could pull herself together enough to respond, we were interrupted by a loud explosion and a plume of dust rising from a building a short distance away.

"What the fuck was that?!" yelped Taylor, jumping to her feet and spinning around.

"Unless I'm very much mistake, that was the sound of someone getting kicked through a wall," I said as I got to my feet, "Best guess, theres a Cape fight going on over there."

I glanced at my Partner and saw that she was staring in the direction of the possible fight with an odd look on her face.

"Taylor?"

"Can we help?" she asked.

I raised an eyebrow.

"You want to get involved?" I asked, "We still haven't got a full handle on our powers."

Taylor bit her lip.

"I know, but...I can't just stand by and risk someone getting hurt or worse," she said.

I smirked.

"Well, when you put it like that, how can I say no?" I said, "Transform and lets go."

Taylor nodded, a determined look on her face, before she hesitated for a moment. I frowned.

"Something...GLUMPH!"

I was cut off as Taylor suddenly grabbed me and kissed me full on the lips. A moment later, she pulled back, her face bright red but determined.

"No regrets," she said and transformed.

I snorted as I caught the Demon Halberd.

"No regrets indeed," I muttered as I started running in the direction of the dust cloud.

* * *

Sophia Hess, better known as Shadow Stalker in costume, was mildly vexed. Actually, no, she was pissed off. She had ditched her weakling of a 'partner' ages ago so she could actually get some real work done and blow off some steam that had been building since Hebert had been off school, only to find that the Docks were somehow bereft of crime. Hell, she hadn't even seen any junkies she could beat up!

By the time she'd found something interesting, the familiar rage and restlessness that drove her to hunt, to hurt, was at an all time high. The place of interest in question was a warehouse apparently being used by the ABB as some kind of storage location. Not that Sophia cared that much by this point, she just wanted to punch something.

Sophia was about to jump down and start her hunt when her finely honed instincts suddenly flared up. She threw herself back, just in time to avoid being clocked over the head by a sheathed sword. She brought up her crossbow and loosed the bolt, only for the projectile to be deflected with a flick of her attackers wrist.

"Thats interesting," said the swordsman, "I thought I sensed someone out here, but I wasn't expecting a Ward. I thought you kids were supposed to stick to the area around the boardwalk?"

Sophia narrowed her eyes as she glared at the man. He was tall and slim, with long, straight blonde hair and blue eyes and was wearing a brown overcoat draped over his shoulders like a cape, a white shirt, straw sandals, olive green dress pants that were tattered at the bottom and was chewing on a long bit of straw. Despite being visibly not Japanese and looking more like someone the E88 would be interested in, he was holding a Katana and had a red and green sash tied around his waist, although it looked more like an afterthought than something he wore to proudly show off his allegiance. He held himself with an easy confidence that Sophia had only ever seen in experienced Heroes like Miss Militia and Lady Photon. It was the stance of someone who knew exactly what they were capable of and yet still maintained a respect for those around them. In other words, the sort of person who made Sophia stick to her stomach.

"Who the fuck are you?!" she snarled, already planning the best way to take him down as painfully as possible without killing him or leaving any evidence to lead back to her.

The swordsman narrowed his eyes and Sophia felt a chill go down her spine. Somehow, the man had just figured out exactly what she was planning and she had no idea how. Was he some kind of Thinker? If so, why did he have the sword?

"I'm just a bodyguard Lung hired to protect his interests," said the Samurai, "That said, I'd rather not fight a kid…"

Whatever else he said was lost to Sophia however as her vision went red. There were many things she hated in the world, but above all else, she hated to be underestimated, to be thought of as weak in any way. She was no weakling! She was a predator, not sniveling pray, to afraid to fight back against the world! How dare this pathetic weakling look down on her! She'd prove her strength to him and turn him into a pincushion with her bolts!

The Ward snarled and brought up her other crossbow, firing the loaded bolt at the Samurai. Once again, he deflected it, but that was fine. It was just a distraction anyway. Sophia dropped her crossbows and pulled out a pair of bolts, holding them like daggers as she went Shadow and charged the man, sweeping under his legs and appearing behind him to stab him in the back. It was a maneuver that never failed to work...until now.

There was a flash of metal and the bolts bounced off the Samurai's sword sheath. Sophia was so startled at her 'unbeatable' strategies defeat that she didn't manage to see the follow up strike coming until the back of the blade slammed into her side and sent her flying across the roof.

"This is your final warning," said the Samurai, resting his sword on his shoulder, "Leave or I'll get serious. I don't want to hurt you kid, but I will if you force my hand."

Sophia snarled as she scrambled to her feet and charged the Samurai again, all sense of strategy or finess swallowed up by her anger. The Samurai easily evaded her wild swings with only the barest of movements, which only served to stoke Sophia's rage as he continued to look at her through apathetic eyes.

"You are consumed by rage," said the man as he tilted his head to avoid a strike that would have taken out his eye, "Reckless, overconfident. You want strength, power so that you no longer feel weak."

"You don't know what your talking about!" snarled Sophia as she tried to stab him through the heart and kidneys, "Now shut up and fight me!"

The man ignored her as he caught her wrists with no apparent effort.

"I can see right through you," he said, "You believe that strength is all that matters, that you yourself are strong, a predator, but you fear that might not be true. So, you seek out fights, beat down those you deem to be weak, anything to try and prove to yourself and others that you are strong."

"SHUT UP!" roared Sophia, drawing back her head and trying to nut the self important bastard.

It was about as effective as the rest of her attacks as the Samurai simply shoved her back, causing her to stumble and fall on her bum.

"In short, your a bully who thinks shes a warrior," said the Samurai, "A petty thug wearing the mask of a hero. Your not even worth drawing my sword for."

It was at that point that Sophia realized that the man had neither drawn his sword or even moved from his original spot in their entire bout. That was to much for the young Shadow user and, letting out a roar of fury and frustration, she charged him again, unarmed and without any plan other than to just HURT HIM! The man tisked and shifted his grip on his sword, swinging it just as Sophia got within range. The force of the blow knocked every scrap of air from the girls lungs and sent her flying back into the little hut that contained the stairwell down into the building they were fighting on, where she crashed through the wall. Fortunately, the age and poor repair of the building meant that she was only bruised as the brittle mortar turned to dust and billowed up into the air like a plume of smoke.

Sophia struggled to sit up, coughing as she felt her ribs throb. Definitely cracked and her back was bruised from the impact with the wall, not to mention the fact she'd bitten her tongue hard enough to draw blood. Despite the pain however, she refused to back down, glaring up at the Samurai as he approached. The blonde man narrowed his eyes slightly.

"Those eyes...I've seen them before," he muttered, "You are walking a very dangerous path girl. If you continue down it, you could become a grave threat."

He tightened his grip on his sword and pushed the blade out a few inches with his thumb.

"I made the mistake of letting another with those eyes live once before," said the man, "I hoped that he might see the error of his ways. Instead, he became the monster I foresaw he would. Thats not a mistake I'm willing to make again."

Sophia's rage quickly vanished as the Samurai drew his sword, replaced by the kind of fear that she liked to inflict on others.

"For what its worth, I'm sorry," said the Samurai.

Sophia squeezed her eyes shut as the sword arched down…

CLANG!

"Well, this is a tad unusual," said a male voice, "Here I thought it was the experienced Cape who was supposed to save the newbe, not the other way around."

Sophia slowly opened her eyes. Stood between her and the Samurai, holding back his blade with no apparent issues, was a teenaged boy in an outfit that just screamed NEW CAPE! In fact, it looked like he was just wearing his street clothes with a long, white scarf wrapped around his face to hide his identity. However, while his costume was slapdash, the weapon in his hands was anything but. It was a beautiful work of art, with a finely forged blade and the rose decoration looked as if each individual petal had been hand painted. Despite the decour though, Sophia could clearly tell that the halberd was meant to be used as a weapon, not as decoration. However, what really stuck out about the teen was his eyes. His pupils were shaped like yellow stars.

 **And done. Next time, Roy vs Mifune. Now THAT should be interesting.**

 **I'm...honestly not sure if I did a good job with their little heart to heart or not. There were so many times when I just wanted to say fuck it and have one of them kiss the other, but that wouldn't fit either character and wouldn't help matters at all! To be honest, it was that bit that took the longest, the rest was easy. As fun as they can be, fluffy scenes can do one!**

 **I know I said I wouldn't be bringing in anyone from Soul Eater, but I honestly couldn't resist. Out of everyone in the SE universe, Mifune was one I genuinely believe will fit in rather well. Plus, I love his character. Hes not the one from the SE universe though, he was born on Bet. For those interested, Mifune will be popping up in the future working for Coil...right up until a certain event that will lead to all sorts of interesting changes.**

 **I also have plans for Sophia. Now, don't get me wrong, she won't be getting off easy, but I do plan for Mifune and Roy to smack some sense into her down the line. That said, I wonder who the other person Mifune knew that ended up becoming a monster? Now that should be an interesting twist for the future.**

 **You know, I'm surprised no one picked up on what I was going for with Roy. I mean come on, his surnames Stellar and hes from a family of assassins, former or not. Oh well, its freakin obvious now since he has light. And yes, his family legacy will come out, especially once he starts fighting those on the less legal end of the spectrum.**

 **And with that, I'm done. Don't forget to leave a review on the way out!**


	4. Chapter 4

Outsider Chronicles: Resonance of the Shards

A sound Soul dwells within a sound mind and a sound body. Considering that, who in the hell thought giving a character from Earth Bet the powers of a Weapon was a good idea? Especially when said Weapon is a bullied girl who wants nothing more than to be a Hero. Looks like I'm going to have my work cut out for me...

 **And we're back. Lets see how this fight will go as well as I think it will. Enjoy!**

Chapter 4

The man known simply as Mifune hated Brockton Bay. It was the location of two of his greatest failures, a festering sore of corruption and a rotting monument to governmental neglect. The fact it formally held so many good memories of his time with his closest friend and Goddaughter certainly didn't help. The only reason he was back in town was because someone called in an old favour and asked him to do a bodyguard job. Of course, it turned out that the job was guarding stock for Lung, but it wasn't anything that would make Mifune kill everyone present on principle, so he remained professional and did his job.

Of course, that job led him to encountering a Ward with the eyes of a demon. Mifune had never once expected to encounter a _child_ with eyes like that. He knew from experience that leaving a monster in the making, even a child, alive was a recipe for disaster. Better to stain his hands now than to allow who knows how many innocents to die.

The Samurai unsheathed his sword and drew back his arm.

"For what its worth, I'm sorry," he said.

The Ward squeezed her eyes shut as the sword arched down…

CLANG!

The blade of his sword stopped as it slammed into the blade of a Halberd and was trapped as the wielder twisted the polearm in a way that trapped the sword in the hook of the axe.

"Well, this is a tad unusual," said the newcomer, "Here I thought it was the experienced Cape who was supposed to save the newbe, not the other way around."

Mifune narrowed his eyes. There was something different about this newcomer. He twisted his sword free and jumped back, getting some distance from the young Cape. The Cape didn't follow, instead he simply relaxed, although Mifune could clearly see that he was still ready for anything.

"So, any particular reason you're trying to kill a Ward?" asked the Cape, "Or are you just another nutcase in Lungs employ?"

Mifune narrowed his eyes.

"Believe me, I'd rather not kill her," he said, "But she is a danger and I will not allow another Demon to be born. This world has far to many as it is."

The Cape narrowed his eyes.

"I see," he said, "Well, unfortunately, I can't let you kill her. Letting a Ward die on my first day out would be a terrible way to debut after all."

He spun his Halberd, creating a strange whistling noise as he did, and took a defencive stance in front of Shadow Stalker. Mifune slid into his own stance, but his mind was spinning. The stance looked familiar and, unlike Armsmaster who, although extremely skilled, wasn't actually trained in the art of fighting, this boy clearly was. Whats more, he didn't hold himself like a Hero, a Villain or even a Soldier. No, he held himself like Mifune did, in a way that very few people in the world did any more. He was a Warrior.

"Tell me your name," said Mifune as the two warriors began to circle.

The Cape smirked behind his scarf.

"Meister," he said, "You can call me Meister."

Mifune narrowed his eyes.

"I am Mifune," he said.

" **Wait, what?"**

Mifune blinked at the unexpected voice.

"Huh, something wrong Partner?" asked Meister, glancing at his weapon.

To Mifune's surprise, the blade shone and the image of a girl appeared in the blade. The distance and glow of the reflection meant that he couldn't make out any details, other than the fact she was slender and had long, dark hair.

" **I know that name…"** said the Weapon, **"Mifune...he was one of Marquis' enforcers!"**

"Was he now?" asked Meister, now sounding really interested, "From what I know about Marquis, he only made people with a code as solid as his own enforcers. Whats someone like that doing working for scum like Lung?"

Mifune scowled.

"To pay off an old debt," he said shortly.

Meister shrugged.

"Eh, none of my business anyway," he said, "But now I really want to fight you!"

Then he vanished. Mifune reacted, turning on his heel to deflect the strike that would have driven the point of the Halberd into his spine and twisting to allow Meister to sail past. As he did, Mifune caught sight of his eyes and the yellow stars in his pupils. The Samurai's eyes widened and he lashed out, forcing Meister to jump away.

"I see, so thats it," he muttered.

Meister narrowed his eyes.

"Whats it?" he asked.

Mifune drew himself up and met the shorter Warrior's eyes.

"It sees I underestimated you Meister," he said, spitting out the reed he was chewing on, "I should have gone all out from the start."

He reached under his coat and pulled out a metal ring that held the distinctive look of Tinkertech. The Samurai held up the ring and pushed a button on the side. There was a flash of light and Meister spun his Halberd to deflect one of the many Katanas that shot out of the ring and embedded themselves over the roof.

"OK, now thats cool," said Meister, "So, does this mean we'll actually fight now?"

Mifune narrowed his eyes and grabbed the sword in front of him. Meister lowered his stance and narrowed his eyes as a faint wind began to pick up around the two fighters. To Sophia, still sat on a pile of bricks and unable to look away, it was like watching two apex predators staring each other down. The tension in the air was immense, enough that the young Ward could have sworn she saw the air around the two start to distort and form massive orbs around them.

Then, they moved.

* * *

It was in that moment that Sophia Hess realized just how low on the totem pole she really was. Oh sure, she knew that there were plenty of Capes who could kick her ass, but that was usually because of the difference in power levels or them having powers that trumped her own. These two on the other hand, showed her that her 'skill' in combat was barely worth mentioning. They moved so quickly that Sophia could barely keep up and their movements made it seem more like a dance to the music of clashing blades and the melodic sound produced by Meisters Halberd than anything else.

* * *

Eventually, the two disengaged and skidded to a stop across from each other on the roof. Both fighters were still breathing lightly and apparently none the worse for wear, although both did have some cuts in their clothes from multiple close shaves.

"This is getting us nowhere," said Meister, "I don't suppose I can convince you to let us leave, can I?"

Mifune narrowed his eyes. He was tempted to do just that. The young Warrior had proven to be a formidable fighter, certainly enough that he could stop Shadow Stalker if she continued down her current path. However, he also knew that if they did leave, the Protectorate would find out about his current charge and he could not allow that. He wouldn't kill the two of course, but he needed to make sure that they were unable to get word to the Protectorate until Lungs product was removed. He would give Shadow Stalker the benefit of the doubt for now, now that there was another powerful warrior who wouldn't hesitate in town in case she did fall.

"Unfortunately, I cannot," said Mifune, "I need to make sure you can't leave until the shipment is removed."

Meister sighed.

"I was afraid of that," he muttered, "Oh well. I guess that just means I'll have to end this."

Mifune narrowed his eyes. What was the Halberd user planning? He was saying something to his partner, but was speaking to quietly for the Samurai to hear him and his scarf made lip reading impossible. Still, whatever it was, he'd put a stop to it before they could try anything. Mifune charged the younger Warrior, snatching up another sword as he went, aiming to disarm and pin Meister with the blades. However, he was to late.

" **SOUL RESONANCE!"** shouted both Meister and his Weapon at the same time and Mifune found himself being pushed back by a wave of energy that surged off the two.

Meister grinned behind his scarf as he spun his weapon, the blade of which was beginning to glow brightly. Then, he suddenly grabbed it and brought it down, slamming the butt of the polearm into the ground. Instead of a normal clank of metal on stone, the resulting sound was more like a gong that seemed to produce visible ripples in the air. Mifune blinked, then shook his head and even rubbed his eyes, but nothing he did would make the odd sight disappear. Meisters grin widened as he slowly lifted his sword and began to move.

To both Mifune and Sophia, it was like they were suddenly seeing double as the Meister's body blurred and seemed to leave behind afterimages as he moved which, combined with the constant ringing that was still somehow echoing around the area, made for a very disorienting effect.

" **First Song: Rhythm Echo,"** said Meister, his voice echoing strangely around the area, "Lets see you beat me if you can't even find me."

Sure enough, between the strange distortions, the flickering after images and the strange, bell-like sound that was quickly becoming nauseating, both Sophia and Mifune were finding it hard to find their balance, let alone Meister. Mifune gritted his teeth and bit his lip, hard. The pain gave him something to focus on other than the effect of whatever power Meister was using to mess with his senses. It wasn't perfect, but it was enough to let him catch a glimpse of the original through the afterimages and optical illusions. Knowing that he didn't have long before he succumbed to the sound, Mifune charged and swung at Meister, intending to finish the fight and stop the infernal sound.

"Its over!" snarled the swordsman as he swung at the Cape…

Only for his sword to strike the Halberd where it was stuck in the roof with no sign of Meister anywhere. Mifune had just enough time to register the mistake before a pair of fists slammed into the small of his back.

"Your right about that," said Meister, smugness clear in his tone, **"Soul Force, Twin Spears!"**

CRUNCH!

Mifune's eyes went wide as he felt a charge of what felt like electricity surge through his body, followed by a burst of incredible force that rattled his organs and sent him flying across the roof with bloody spittle flying from his lips.

* * *

Sophia watched with wide eyes as the Samurai skidded to a stop on the other side of the roof, unconscious from the impact. With their master out of the fight, the swords scattered over the roof vanished, apparently summoned back into whatever pocket dimension they were summoned from. Meister ignored the vanishing blades as he retrieved his weapon and turned to Sophia.

"So, are you OK?" he asked.

"I-I think so," she stuttered, shock and no small amount of awe temporarily dispelling her belligerent attitude.

She shifted, but before she could try and get up, her body informed her that it was NOT happy about being exposed to the strange power Meister had used by ejecting her last eaten meal. She barely had time to turn away to hide her face and lift her mask up. She was so busy vomiting that she almost didn't notice Meister approaching until he crouched down beside her and offered her a bottle of water and a handful of tissues. Sophia nodded her thanks and swilled her mouth out after wiping her lips.

" **Are you OK?"** asked a female voice.

Sophia jumped at the unexpected voice and looked up to see a girl reflected in the blade of the Halberd. The reflection was such that she couldn't make out any features, but she could see the concerned look.

"What the fuck?!" spluttered Sophia.

"Oh right, this is…" started Meister.

" **Halberd,"** said the girl in the blade, **"My names Halberd. I'm a Cape too."**

Sophia blinked a few times. A Cape that could turn into a weapon? That was...odd. Then again, considering that Hookwolf could turn himself into a Human blender, a girl who could apparently turn into a Halberd with the ability to fuck with perception was perfectly normal.

Sophia shook off her surprise and opened her mouth to respond. Before she could though, the sound of something heavy hitting the roof drew the attention of the three young Capes. They looked up to see Armsmaster approaching from the edge of the roof. He didn't look happy and his Halberd was held threateningly as he glared at Meister, visible even through his visor.

"Step away from the girl," he growled.

 **Well, thats just freaking typical, aint it? Armsmaster arrives on the scene to meet a new Cape and immediately makes a right hash of it by jumping to conclusions. This should be interesting. Speaking of interesting, I hope the fight was.**

 **Well, a fair few interesting revelations here. Mifune used to work for Marquis (and considering he was working for a mob boss at the start of the Manga, thats not totally unbelievable) and has a Goddaughter. I bet you can guess what his failures were. Incidentally, I'm not done with the revelations regarding Mifune and I have one that will likely make everyone cry BULLSHIT! Thats for later though.**

 **Rhythm Echo is just one of five 'Songs' Taylor and Roy can use in addition to the Hunter attacks with Soul Resonance. Taylor's ability as a weapon is to control sound in various ways, similar to how Harvar can use lightning and Fire and Thunder can use...fire and thunder. They can use this power to disorent their opponents or in a way similar to what Crona and Ragnarok do and increase Taylors cutting power. Obviously, they aren't as devastating as the Hunter series of attacks, but they are much easier to pull off.**

 **Someone pointed out that the stars in the eye only appeared for Blackstar when he was under the influence of Madness and thats true, but the Hoshi and Hoshino family's both have Light Eyes that are active all the time. In the case of the Stellar Clan on Bet, their Light appears when they get riled up for a fight or extremely angry.**

 **I also had two other Guests ask about the Great Ones and if Taylor and Roy did actually Trigger. Now, I don't want to spoil anything, but the truth is that only Roy is a Cape and even then, the Shard's only real influence is amplifying his Souls Wavelength. How Taylor became a weapon will be revealed in the future, although it has to do with her mother and the fact that, yes, the world of SE is connected to Bet and certain individuals may have developed methods to travel between Realms. That said, no Canon SE characters will appear, other than Mifune and a possible camio from Death at some point.**

 **As for Excalibur, he doesn't technically exist on Bet...but that doesnt mean he won't be making his appearances! In fact…**

OMAKE 1

Legend of the Holy Sword 1

A Wards in Search of the Sword?

PART 1

It was a quiet night at the Wards HQ. Everyone was back from their patrols, there were no emergencies and for once, no one was getting chewed out. As such, the Wards were lounging around like teenagers should, with Aigus and Gallant playing Halo Team Deathmatch, Vista busy in the kitchen, Shadow Stalker counting her crossbow bolts and Meister and Halberd curled up together on the sofa with a book thick enough to beat seals to death with. Kid Win had locked himself in his lab a few hours ago and the sounds of buzz saws, muffled swearing, blow torches, manic laughter and the occasional loud explosion occasionally leaked through the door.

Unfortunately, the peace was suddenly broken when…

"HOLD UP!"

Sigh, what is it Vista?

The Space Warper jabbed a finger at Roy and Taylor.

"What are Roy and Taylor doing here?" she asked, "They haven't joined the Wards and none of us have even met them yet!"

"This is non-canon," said Roy, "Now stop breaking the Fourth Wall and shut up!"

Vista grumbled something under her breath as she went back to her cooking, which appeared to be attempting to eat the stainless steel spoon she was using to stir the greenish gray substance.

Anyway, as I was saying, the peace was broken by the door suddenly opening and an annoyed looking Miss Militia stomping into the room.

"Wheres Clockblocker?" she asked without preamble.

"Why, has he done something wrong?" asked Aegis.

Miss Militia growled.

"Yes, he has," she said, "He hit Battery and I with a water balloon full of oil when we were sparing this morning, so we assigned him to cleaning the showers with a toothbrush as punishment. Unfortunately, he seems to have vanished."

"I saw him earlier heading for the doors with a book," said Sophia, not looking up from where she was carefully sharpening her arrows, "Said something about going to look for a legend of some sort."

Miss Militia froze.

"A...legend?" she asked slowly, "Did he say what?"

Sopha paused.

"Um, I think it was some kind of sword," she said, "Ex-something or other."

"She means Excalibur," said Velocity as he suddenly appeared next to Miss Militia.

The Patriotic Hero paled.

"You mean THAT Excalibur?" she asked, "The sword that cuts the air and shakes the very ground?"

There was a moments silence as the two Heroes stared at each other. Then, Velocity turned away.

"Lets not talk about this," he said.

"Yeah, in some ways this is the ultimate punishment," said Miss Militia, "Anyway, I've got work to do."

She walked off down the corridor, muttering to herself.

"Um, Velocity?" asked Taylor.

"Yes Halberd?" said the Speedster.

"Whats the big deal about looking for Excalibur?" she asked, "I mean, its jut a myth, right?"

Velocity gave a strangled laugh.

"No, Excalibur is very real," he said, "And its every bit as powerful as the legends say. Anyone who wields the sword will become a mighty king and a True Hero, granted wings of light and Victory in every battle."

"And Clockblockers going to find that thing?!" spluttered Vista, "Oh god, this won't end well."

Velocity smirked.

"Oh don't worry," he said, "I think he'll be back soon enough. Obtaining the swords power is nearly impossible. Not even Alexandria managed it."

Everyone went wide eyed at that. To think, there was something so difficult that not even Alexandria could succeed! Not only that, but one of their own was attempting it. Suddenly, most of the Wards were wondering if they'd ever see their Teammate again…

 **Part two will come in the next chapter and we'll get to see Clockblocker meet the King of Annoyance himself. Please remember that the Omakes are NOT CANON and thus do not indicate what I may or may not have planned for the future.**

 **And with that, this chapter is complete. Don't forget to leave a review!**


	5. Chapter 5

Outsider Chronicles: Resonance of the Shards

A sound Soul dwells within a sound mind and a sound body. Considering that, who in the hell thought giving a character from Earth Bet the powers of a Weapon was a good idea? Especially when said Weapon is a bullied girl who wants nothing more than to be a Hero. Looks like I'm going to have my work cut out for me...

 **And we're back. Generic opening comment is generic. Enjoy!**

Chapter 5

Well, this was a predicament. The very last thing I was expecting when I headed out to help out with the Cape fight was to save Shadow Stalkers life from a character from a completely different story. Then again, considering I'm basically a member of a less murder happy Star Clan and my Partner was a literal weapon, I shouldn't be totally surprised that Mifune made an appearance. I was surprised that I managed to beat him, although I suspect it was because he was still holding back a little and I took him by surprise with Rhythm Step and a blast of my Soul Wavelength. Now it looked like I'd have to fight Armsmaster to, unless I could talk him down from assuming that I was the one who beat the crap out of Shadow Stalker. Of course, I had been the one to make a mess of her sense of balance, but she'd recover from that in no time.

"Whoa, hey, lets not jump to conclusions here!" I said, holding up a hand and taking care to keep Taylor in a non-threatening grip while still being ready to bring her to bare if needs be, "I'm trying to help her, not hurt her!"

Armsmasters lower face twisted into a scowl.

"How did she get hurt?" he asked curtly.

"She picked a fight with Mifune," I said, jerking a thumb at the Samurai, who seemed to have regained consciousness and was struggling to get to his feet.

Somehow, Armsmasters scowl got even deeper as he spotted the still dazed Samurai.

"I see," he said shortly and pointed his Halberd at Mifune.

There was a click, the sound of pressurized gas escaping and a yelp as Mifune was suddenly trapped up to his neck in Containment Foam. I highly doubted that an individual as powerful as Mifune would remain captured for long, but I didn't say anything. With the Samurai restrained, Armsmaster turned back to me and looked me up and down, eyeing Taylor with an unreadable expression. I could feel my partner vibrating in my hands and she seemed to be muttering something to herself in a voice that was rapidly approaching subsonic in terms of pitch. I think she might be excited over meeting Armsmaster.

"Your new," he said.

"That we are," I said.

I think Armsmaster narrowed his eyes behind his visor as he glanced around.

"We?"

I smiled and shifted Taylor.

"Yes, we," I said.

" **Um, hi?"** said Taylor.

Armsmaster stared at the Weapon in my hands.

"Your Halberd...talks?" he said slowly, "Tinkertech?"

"Nope, Changer," I said, "Shes my partner, Halberd. My names Meister."

The frown came back.

"Can you change back?" he asked.

" **Um, I'd rather not,"** said Taylor, **"We didn't actually plan to do anything other than experiment today, so I don't have a mask or anything…"**

She trailed off, before the halberd in my hands suddenly bucked, the haft twisting in a way that shouldn't be possible.

" **OH GOD, I'M NAKED IN HERE!"** screamed Taylor, the blade of the weapon suddenly glowing brightly.

I couldn't help it, I burst out laughing. I was wondering when Taylor would notice that and she didn't disappoint. Apparently Taylor didn't think it was funny though as she used her newfound flexibility to wack me over the back of the head with the flat of her blade.

* * *

Armsmaster frowned as he watched the odd sight of a weapon berating its wielder in a way that screamed familiarity, even to his admittedly atrophied social skills. It was clear that the two new Capes were close friends or possibly more. Then again, it took a lot of trust to allow another person to use her like Meister did. He had to wonder if she really was just a Changer or if she had other powers. Some kind of power granting Trump maybe? Either way, if these two were able to take down a man like Mifune, they'd make a great addition to the Wards. Plus, gaining two new recruits would be a great boon and would certainly help his reputation.

"You know that the Wards program is designed to help people like you two discover what their really capable of," he said, cutting through the odd scuffle and making both pause.

"Huh, guess I should have seen that coming," said Meister, "What do you think Halberd?"

The blade flashed and the faintly glowing image of a girl appeared in the blade.

" **I...don't know,"** she said.

"You don't have to make a decision now," said Armsmaster quickly, "Just think about it and call when you're ready to decide."

He had his Halberd spit out two cards with his logo and contact details printed on them and handed them to Meister.

"Right, we'll do that," said Meister, slipping the cards into his pocket, "For now though, we have a prior engagement."

" **We do?"**

"Sure, theres a new film at the pictures I'm dying to see. Wanna make a date of it?"

The blade of the weapon immediately went so red it looked like it had just been taken out of a forge.

" **S-sure,"** said Halberd.

Meister snickered under his breath and, with a jaunty wave, took off in the direction of the Boardwalk, vanishing over the rooftops at speeds fast enough to earn him a Mover rating. Once the new duo had vanished from view, the leader of the Protectorate turned his glare on Shadow Stalker. The girl still hasn't got up and was looking rather shaken. He made a mental note to put her under low level Master/Stranger protocols once they got back to base. But first, he needed to give her a good talking to about protocol and then hand her over to Miss Militia to scold over leaving her partner without permission.

* * *

Director Piggot rubbed her temples in frustration. She hated it when new Parahumans showed up, especially when they didn't have any obvious affiliation. While annoying and worrying, new Parahumans joining the Gangs were easy to deal with because she knew exactly how to deal with them. Same with those that joined the Protectorate or Wards. New solos Capes on the other hand were a source of worry and stress because she was never sure what they were going to do. This new duo was no different.

True, they had saved one of the Wards (although a small part of her wished that they had been to late so as to remove the headache that was Sophia Hess) and had been polite and pleasant enough with Armsmaster, but one interaction didn't mean much in the long run. Plus, they had managed to take out Mifune, a man who had once taken on the entire Brockton Bay Brigade while working for Marquis and came out on top, without sustaining any major injuries.

To make matters worse, they didn't have a clue what powers the due had, other than the fact the girl was a Changer who could apparently turn into a weapon, some kind of Shaker power connected to sound or illusions or both and the fact that Meister was fast enough to be a Mover, although he could also be a Brute who used his strength to increase his speed. That might sound like a lot, but they had no idea which power came from which Cape. Hell, it could even be that they were spoofing them and only one of them had powers and the other was either a Trump granting the powers or some kind of Master progetion.

So yes, they were definitely giving Piggot a headache and she didn't like it at all.

"So, what do we think the chances are of those two joining the Wards?" she asked as she rubbed her temples.

"Unknown," said Armsmaster, "I've analyzed the video again and Meister at least isnt to interested. It looked like he was expecting the offer, but didn't have any intention of actually taking me up on it. I'm unsure about Halberd as her weapon form makes it impossible to actually get any details from her body language. I do know that they won't be joining us without the other."

Piggot sighed. Thats what she'd been afraid of.

"Meister...I think thats German," said Miss Militia, looking thoughtful.

"Correct," said Armsmaster, "It means Master. Typically, its used to refer to a master craftsman or an honorary title of respect."

"You think he might be affiliated with the Empire?" asked Piggot.

Armsmaster immediately shook his head.

"No, I don't," he said.

The two women turned their gazes on him.

"What makes you say that?" asked Piggot.

"Because he never once showed any indication of aggression towards Shadow Stalker," said Armsmaster, "Her race is well known and yet he helped her, despite her being helpless at the time."

"She was affected by whatever power he used against Mifune," said Miss Militia.

"Shadow Stalker said that it was sound based or similar," said Armsmaster, "Its entirely possible that he can't single out targets or he simply doesn't have enough control yet to prevent those around him from being affected."

Piggot held up a hand, cutting off Miss Militia before she could respond.

"We can sit here all day debating their motives," she said, "However, we won't get anywhere without more hard data. For now, lets mark them as tentative allies and inform everyone to treat them as such until they prove themselves one way or another. If anyone encounters them, try to push the Wards on them."

Both Heroes nodded in understanding.

"Alright, now thats done, onto the next item of interest," said Piggot, "The energy blast that came from the Boat Graveyard. Do we have any details?"

They did not. Yes, this day was looking to be a very annoying one.

* * *

Taylor was currently feeling an emotion she hadn't really felt since the start of Highschool. Never in a million years did she once believed that she would find herself walking out of the cinema, hand in hand with her best friend/crush after enjoying a movie date with him. The chances of such a thing happening had ranked just a few steps lower than her ever becoming a Cape and now both things had happened within such a short space of time.

Admittedly, she could have done without getting locked in her Locker and her powers were a little underwhelming at first, but in the end, she'd definitely come out on top. She never would have had the courage to confess to Roy without her near death experience after all. She glanced at her boyfriend (EEEEEE) and saw that he had a contemplative look on his face. She sidled closer and poked him in the side.

"Whats wrong?" she asked as he looked at her.

"Just wondering what to do," he said.

"About joining the Wards?"

Roy nodded. Taylor frowned as she ran the idea over in her head. It...wasn't a terrible idea by any stretch of the imagination, but after dealing with the Bitches Three (yes, she'd picked up on using Roy's nickname for her tormentors) and all the other bullshit at school, the last thing she wanted was to get involved in teen politics with a bunch of superpowered kids. Besides, if the Witch Hunter and Rhythm Step they'd pulled off together were anything to go by, they didn't really have anything to worry about.

"I don't think its a good idea," she said eventually, "I'm sure they're all really nice, but I don't feel like dealing with the inevitable drama."

Roy smiled.

"Thats what I thought you'd say," he said, "Yeah, I agree. Joining the Wards would be a waste of time and not worth the headache."

Taylor smiled.

"So what, we're going solo?" she asked.

"If you want," said Roy, "But first, I think we should see about getting some costumes."

"Where are we going to get them?" asked Taylor, "And do I really need one?"

"Sure, if you want to take Human form when we're out as Capes," I said, "As for where we can find them, I have an idea. Come on."

He sped up, leading Taylor back towards the slightly poorer area of the city where their houses were located. However, instead of turning onto their street, he led the way further down the street to a slightly overgrown lot where a long, wooden building was built with a star symbol painted on the creaking door. It was the Dojo Roy's family owned.

"Why are we here?" asked Taylor as Roy unlocked the door.

"My family have been fighters for generations," said Roy as he led the way across the polished, wooden floor towards the private area at the back of the building that served as storage, "Theres some stuff in here that we can use."

"Is that smart?" asked Taylor as she followed him into one of the storerooms, looking around with interest at the bundles of training weapons and more than a few real ones carefully packed away.

"Sure, its not like any of this stuff is actually used," said Roy as he started rummaging through one of the boxes, "Plus, they belong to the family as a whole, so technically anyone can claim anything thats here...ah ha!"

He straightened and Taylor saw he was holding a bundle of clothes.

"Here, try these."

Taylor hesitantly took the bundle and left the store room for the womans changing room off the main hall. A few minutes later she was stood in front of the old mirror in the room, examining the outfit. It fit perfectly and...actually looked rather good on her. It consisted of a sleeveless, white top with stitches going down the middle and protective padding stitched into the lining, tight, black shorts that resembled biker shorts, combat boots and a black scarf around her neck. A pair of fingerless, elbow length gloves with metal arm guards attached covered her forearms and the combat boots had metal plates attached that came up to her knees and ended with metal knee caps. There was no mask, but the scarf would serve that purpose or Taylor could try and find something suitable if it couldn't.

Taylor had to wonder exactly why Roy's family had stuff like this hidden away in their Dojo, but then again, they did have a long history of being warriors, enough that training their children to fight from an early age was a thing. Still, the armour looked like it had been made with modern techniques and the clothing wasn't old, so that didn't really explain much.

Taylor shrugged off the thoughts. She wouldn't find any answers in the mirror and Roy would tell her if it was important. Instead, she turned away from the mirror and stepped out of the room to find her partner leaning against the wall, waiting for her. Apparently he'd found a suitable costume as well as he was wearing an outfit similar to her own, consisting of black pants, a white shirt under a padded waistcoat with a star on the breast pocket, combat boots and gloves that were identical to her own and his long, white scarf. All in all, he looked rather dashing.

Roy glanced up as Taylor existed the changing rooms, his eyes sweeping over her form in a single motions.

"Wow, that looks great on you!" he said as he pushed off the wall and approached Taylor.

She blushed at the complement.

"T-thanks," she said, "S-so, what now?"

Roy smiled and hugged her.

"Well, first off, we get a better handle on our powers," he said, "We beat Mifune, but only because we caught him by surprise. Once we do that, we can do some good for the city."

Taylor returned the smile as her blush increased and she hugged Roy back. Yes, for the first time in a very long time, Taylor Hebert was content.

 **Well, that was fun. The ending was a pain, but I think the rest of it works.**

 **I based their costumes on Blackstar and Tsubaki's Spartoi uniforms, although I did make some modifications. What? I think they look cool.**

 **Hehehe, I've been wanting to do Taylors reaction to realizing shes naked in her Soul dimension since I started. Reactions like that are always fun.**

 **Piggot has a headache. Nothing new there. It'll only get worse from here.**

 **Speaking of headaches, its time for:**

OMAKE 1

Legend of the Holy Sword 1

A Wards in Search of the Sword?

PART 2

Clockblocker grinned widely as he stared at the cave before him. It had taken him awhile and the journey had been treacherous, but he'd finally found it! The resting place of the Holy Sword Excalibur! Soon, he would be seen as a True Hero and no one would ever disrespect him again! Well, actually he just wanted the sword to get Miss Militia and Battery of his ass a little and maybe get Shadow Stalker to lighten up a little.

Chuckling at his own pun, the Time Stopper started into the cave, looking around with interest at the unusual looking stone formations. He was no geologist, but the formations didn't look natural in the slightest.

He was distracted from his thoughts by a faint light and, upon looking around, he was surprised to see a little fairy fluttering out of the gloom and look him up and down with interest. Then again, considering he was seeking a Holy Sword, seeing a fairy or two wasn't that surprising.

"Um, hi," said Clockblocker, "Is Excalibur up ahead?"

The fairy twitched and, instead of answering, made a face and flew off.

"Well, that was rude," muttered Clockblocker, "Oh well."

He kept going and soon found himself exiting into a large chamber with a pedestal in the center. In the middle of the pedestal, awash with sunlight from a hole in the ceiling, was a beautiful, golden sword. Clockblockers eyes widened in glee as he hurried forwards and stood before the legendary sword. For a moment, the young man hesitated, before he slowly reached out and wrapped his fingers around its hilt. He took a deep breath, steeling himself for disappointment (he was under no delusions that he was probably unworthy) and pulled.

Much to his surprise, the sword came lose without any resistance. He stared at the blade in his hand for a moment, before a slow smile crossed his face.

"YES!" he screamed, jumping for joy, "SEE, I AM A HERO! TAKE THAT PIGGOT!"

" **Ah ha, so, a new traveler has come to wield me?"** said a voice from apparently nowhere, making Clockblocker jump.

He spun around, sword held at the ready as he scanned the cave.

"Who's there?!" he demanded.

" **Please forgive the belated introduction,"** said the voice, **"I am the Holy Sword, EXCALIBUR!"**

Clockblocker was forced to cover his eyes as the sword in his hand suddenly started glowing brightly and floated out of his hand. After a couple of seconds, the glow faded and he could see the source of the voice. His jaw dropped open in complete and utter disbelief.

"How utterly...LAME!"

Before the Ward stood a...creature for want of a better word. It was small, smaller even than Vista, with bulbous eyes that looked like a failed arts and crafts project, a prominent upturned snout, a small white body with slender limbs and feet strangely akin to those of a rabbit. It was wearing a high quality attire, consisting of a white top hat that nearly equaled it in height and a similarly coloured shirt with a frilled ruff, worn under a white jacket and nothing on its lower half. In its hand was a massive cane that was longer than it was tall, hat included.

"Tell me young man, what is your name?" asked the creature who was apparently Excalibur.

"Um, well, I'm…"

"FOOL!" shouted Excalibur suddenly, cutting Clockblocker off, "My legend dates back to the 12th century you know?"

"Um, what does that have to do with anything?" asked Clockblocker, a sinking feeling appearing in his gut.

"Where did you come from?" asked Excalibur, "You don't look much like a Meister."

Clockblocker frowned. What did hid Halberd wielding teammate have to do with anything?

"Well, I'm from…" he stared, only to be cut off again.

"Come here, I want to show you something," said Excalibur, turning away and walking on the spot.

Clockblockers eye twitched. This was quickly getting a little too weird for him to take.

"Do you want to hear my legend or not?" asked Excalibur suddenly, spinning around and putting his cane in Clockblockers face.

"What the hell are you talking about?" asked the Time Stopper, pushing down his annoyance with great difficulty, "Nothing you say makes any sense!"

"Where did you come from?" asked Excalibur, not moving his cane.

"As I tried to say earlier, I'm from Brockton Bay," growled Clockblocker.

"I knew that," said Excalibur.

"Then why did you ask?!" growled Clockblocker, now starting to get really angry.

He was ignored.  
"Pick a favorite number between 1 and 12," said Excalibur.

Clockblocker blinked, his anger momentarily dissipating at the random change of topic.

"Um, 3 I guess?" he said.

"FOOL! What right do you have to pick a number?" asked Excalibur, "My legend dates back to the 12th century you know?"

Oh hello anger my old friend!

"BUT YOU TOLD ME TO PICK A NUMBER!" yelled Clockblocker, "Who the fuck wrote this?!"

He pulled the book that had led him to the cave out of his bag and read the author's name. Excalibur.

"YOU WROTE THIS TOSH!?" he screamed, throwing the book to the ground.

"No autographs!" said Excalibur, once more sticking his cane in Clockblockers face.

By this point, the young Ward was seriously considering leaving and joining the Slaughterhouse 9, just so he could kill something. His fists kept clenching and unclenching as he resisted the urge to punch the annoying little critter. Then, his anger was momentarily banished and replaced with surprise as his hands were suddenly filled with a thick sheet of papers.

"Before you become my Meister, there are a total of 1000 provisions you must abide by," said Excalibur, "Please read them carefully."

Clockblocker numbly did as he was told.

"I particularly look forwards to number 452, the five hour storytelling party," continued the Weapon, "And thus…!"

He glowed brightly and transformed.

" **YOU ARE CHOSEN!"** he exclaimed, his words like crashing thunder, **"FOR VICTORY AND GLORY! LET US GO, TOGETHER!"**

Clockblockers face lit up as he reached up to grasp the sword...only to freeze it with his powers and run away as fast as he could. Nothing was worth putting up with that thing! He'd rather fight all three Endbringers and the S9, alone and armed with nothing but a spoon!

* * *

Vista hummed happily to herself as she idly sturred the contents of her mixing bowl, ignoring the faint growling that was coming from it and occasionally smacking the probing tentacles that slithered out towards the hem of her skirt. It had been quiet without Clockblocker around, but she was starting to miss the irreverent Jokester. She hoped he was OK. Otherwise, who else would she be able to try out her new recipes on?

As if summoned by her thoughts, the door to the Wards HQ opened and Clockblocker walked in, looking like he hadnt gone on the hunt for a supposedly mythical sword.

"Hey Dennis, welcome back!" said Vista, "Did you manage to find it?"

Clockblocker twitched slightly.

"I did," he said, "But I...couldn't manage to master it."

"Oh, well, thats a shame," said Vista, "So, what are you doing?"

"Miss Militia ordered me to clean out the workroom, so I'm grabbing my toothbrush," said Dennis as he headed into his room.

Vista blinked. Dennis accepting a punishment without arguing? Apparently he had learnt something on his journey, even if he hadn't managed to retrieve the sword!

Before she could think any more on the odd change, the door opened again and Gallant and Aegis entered, dragging a rather large package behind them.

"Hi guys, whats that?" asked Vista.

"Not sure," said Aegis, "But its addressed to Dennis and weighs a ton."

"Well then, lets take a look," said Meister as he and Halberd entered after the impromptu delivery boys, "Halberd?"

"Right," said the Changer and morphed into her weapon form.

There was a flash of light and the top of the package went flying in a shower of confetti as a large frame popped out of the package. It consisted of a tripod made of red and white striped wood like a barbers pole, a large ring of flowers with a picture of a bizarre creature in the middle, a banner with Clockblockers name on it and a banner above it all, also surrounded with flowers, with the words 'I'LL ALWAYS BE WAITING FOR YOU~ EXCALIBUR~ painted on it. The gathered Wards gaped at the gaudy thing, completely stumped and unable to react. At that moment, the door to Clockblockers room opened and the man himself walked out, toothbrush in hand. At the sight of the...thing, he went white and dropped the brush.

"Something you want to tell us Clock?" asked Aegis, his voice sounding a little horse.

In answer, Clockblocker pulled a face and ran for the bathroom, tears flowing down his cheeks.

 **And there we go, thats the end of Clocks encounter with Excalibur. So, who should I send after the Holy Sword next? I might not include one after every chapter, but they will be fairly regular and I might occasionally post them alone.**

 **Anyway, with that, I'm done so I'm going to bed. Don't forget to leave a review!**


	6. Chapter 6

Outsider Chronicles: Resonance of the Shards

A sound Soul dwells within a sound mind and a sound body. Considering that, who in the hell thought giving a character from Earth Bet the powers of a Weapon was a good idea? Especially when said Weapon is a bullied girl who wants nothing more than to be a Hero. Looks like I'm going to have my work cut out for me...

 **And we're back. Generic opening comment is generic. Enjoy!**

Chapter 6

Emma Barnes felt sick. School was back on after the winter holidays and she was back and raring to get back to teaching Taylor her place. Plus, it would help cheer Sophia up! Her best friend had been strangely down since just before the holidays and it was honestly starting to worry Emma, seeing the other girl look so down in the dumps.

Of course, thats not the reason why she felt sick. Oh no, that would be because of the sight in front of her. She'd been waiting by Taylor's locker, ready to get her minions to surround her so they could get the semester of to a flying start as soon as Steller was out of the picture. Instead, she found herself forced to watch as the impossible happened. Taylor was smiling brightly as she and Roy walked through the halls, hand in hand. That was...impossible! Theres no way that a weakling like Taylor could ever get a hot boyfriend like Roy! Hell, Emma didn't even know why the handsome boy bothered to hang out with the ugly bitch! She must have blackmail or something. Yeah, that was it! Maybe she could use that to get Steller to dump Taylor for her. It shouldn't be to difficult and the teen was handsome and athletic, certainly enough to have some fun with until she got bored. Plus, it might even be enough to push Taylor over the edge! This would require careful planning…

* * *

I was in a very good mood that morning. The christmas holidays had been EXTREMELY productive for Taylor and I. We haven't actually done any Cape work, instead we'd focused on honing our skills together, making sure we could use and control our Resonance techniques, discovering an additional four Songs in the process, and I'd even started teaching Taylor the bases of my Family's martial style. She wasn't a Master by any means, but she was good enough to hold her own against most opponents, especially with help from her powers. Oh, I doubted that she'd ever be a fully autonomous Weapon, but she wouldn't be helpless without me anymore.

As an added bonus, the training had served to help strengthen our relationship, resulting in Taylor gaining a lot more confidence. I think it helped that both sets of parents supported us, although that didn't stop Danny from giving me the 'Hurt her and I'll kill you' speech and both of us ended up getting another TALK and a reminder to be careful. Separatally, thankfully, but that didn't stop us from being utterly humiliated and unable to meet the others eyes for a couple of days. Its amazing how much talking about sex with your parents can affect you, even if you've technically already gone through it once. Then again, maybe its not…

I quickly shoved that thought out of my head. I needed to focus on school and I did NOT need the TALK rattling around in my head when trying to get my head around algibre. Even after two lifetimes, I still couldn't figure it out. Or figure out why the fuck they actually taught us it.

"What do you want?" I asked as I shut my locker door and revealed Emma standing there.

She was smiling in a way I really didn't like. I think it was supposed to be charming, but it looked more like she was plotting to kill the Batman. It didn't help that her caked on makeup to cover the bags under her eyes and unhealthy pallor made her look like a clown She was planning something.

"Oh, I just wanted to talk to you," said Emma in a sugary sweet voice that made me shudder, "Its been a while after all and we used to be friends."

"No, you were friends with Taylor, I was friends with Taylor and we just happened to hang out together," I said, "Passing acquaintances, not friends."

Emma's smile faltered a little, but she gamely kept it up. I really wish she wouldn't.

"Actually, thats something I wanted to talk to you about," she said, stepping closer to me and well into my personal space.

"Unless your going to ask me how to go about trying to become a decent Human being, I'm not interested," I said as I turned on my heel and walked away.

Emma scowled, but hurried after me, trying to press close to my side as she gave me a look that I think was supposed to be cute.

"Oh, don't be like that," she said, "You know I can help you, right?"

"Help me with what?" I asked.

"With whatever Taylor's got on you of course," said Emma, "Blackmails a crime you know."

I stopped and stared at the red-head. Where the fuck had that come from?

"Huh?" I asked, "Blackmail? What are you talking about?"

Emma huffed and crossed her arms.

"Well, why else would you still hang out with that loser?" she asked, "And now shes got you dating her as well! That can't be allowed!"

I stared at her for a moment longer, before I opened my mouth. Unfortunately, I couldn't think of anything to say to respond to that, so I closed it again and walked off, shaking my head in disbelief.

* * *

"She thought WHAT?!" demanded Taylor, staring at me in complete and utter disbelief.

"Yeah, that was pretty much my reaction to," I said, my head resting on the table, "I'm seriously starting to wonder if I should ask Mum to talk to Alan to see if we can get Emma screened."

"That...might be a good idea," said Taylor, still looking a little freaked that Emma thought she was blackmailing me.

Not that I honestly blamed her. Even I was having trouble getting my head around it and I knew how messed up Emma was. She DEFINITELY needed to have her head examined.

I sighed and got to my feet.

"Well, we can't stay here all day, lets go."

Taylor nodded and I paid the bill as we left. We headed up the road a short distance, before taking a sharp left into an alleyway where we changed into our costumes, Taylor transformed and I jumped up onto the roof of the building. Today was the first day we were going out patrolling, although it was mostly to get a feel of the city from above. I wasn't actually expecting to find any crimes in progress.

* * *

We found a crime in progress. Apparently I'd massively underestimated this citys ability to be a hellhole. The crime in question was a couple of Merchants jumping a girl and were apparently trying to inject her with something, although she certainly wasn't making it easy for them. Two of the idiots were already curled up clutching their nads, another was holding his bleeding nose and the two holding her arms were cussing up a storm as she squirmed and kicked like a horse.

Of course, even if she had the situation well in hand, that didn't mean I was about to leave her alone. Instead, I jumped off the roof and landed on the head of the Merchant with the hypodermic with a loud crunch. Before I could continue with the saving thing, the girl took advantage of the distraction provided by my entrance and, in an impressive display of flexibility, flipped over and did the splits, kicking both Merchants in the head at the same time.

"Shes good," I muttered.

Then she turned around and my jaw dropped. It was Madison, but not the same girl who'd been harrassing Taylor before the holidays. Her hair had been cropped short and dyed bright pink, her cutesy and fashionable clothes had been replaced with a sports jacket, mini-skirt, sneakers, and thigh-length socks in shades of white, blue and pastel pink.

"Tanuki Witch much," I said without thinking.

That just got me an odd look.

"What?"

"Never mind," I said quickly.

I did activate my Soul Perception though and was greeted by the sight of a rather large yellow Soul with a tanuki ears and tail sticking out of it. Not a Witch, but definitely a Parahuman. I think she might have Kim's powers though, although exactly how Regeneration of both herself and others came about, I have no idea.

"Um, are you OK?" I asked.

Madison shrugged casually.

"Eh, I could have taken em," she said.

I blinked. Ooook then, what the fuck happened over the holidays?!

"Anyway, I got things to do," said the pink haired girl, "See ya."

She stepped around me and walked out of the alley, hands in her pockets. I stared after her, still not entirely sure what in the fuck had just happened as Taylor switched back to Human form beside me, looking just as confused.

"Did...that just happen?" she asked.

"I...think so," I said.

"Right...why do I suddenly have a urge to check my wallet?" asked Taylor.

I just shrugged helplessly.

* * *

Paige Mcabee was scared out of her wits. She was still having trouble pulling herself together from the blatenet railroading she'd been put through at her sham of a trial that led her to being Caged, but that didn't mean she didn't spend half her time scared out of her wits. She was a SINGER and yet her she was, locked up with some of the worst criminals on the face of the earth. The only comfort was the fact that Lustrum had extended her protection, just like Dragon had said she would, but apparently that protection didn't extend to everyone in the prison. No one wanted to get on the Fairy Queens bad side after all, not even Lustrum.

She wasn't even sure why Glaistig Uaine wanted to talk to her considering she wasn't even assigned to her cell block! However, the message she received was insistent and Lustrum had told her that if she didn't go, the consequences would be an uncertain doom, so here she was, stood in the Fairy Queens cell, squirming under the blonds intense gaze.

In an attempt to calm herself down, Paige scanned the room. It was the same size as all the other cells in the Cage, but had a fair few bits and bobs that should have been impossible to get in the prison. There was a shelf with a fair few books, most of which looked really old and included a rather thick tome with a stylized E on the spine and one covered in runes she could make no sense of, a stuffed...thing with an upturned nose on the bed and a large mirror on one wall.

"You don't belong here, do you?" said the Fairy Queen suddenly.

Paige snapped her head back to face the delusional Cape.

"I…" she started, but couldn't think of what to say to that.

Glaistig Uaine ignored her aborted attempt to respond and waved to the seat across the table from her.

"Sit, have some tea," she said.

Paige did as she was told, doing her best not to gulp when she saw that her cup had a cartoonish skull decal. She really hoped that wasn't a premonition of what was to come.

"As I was saying, you don't belong here," said the Fairy Queen, "You are here because of lies and politics, not because you actually deserve it. Those fools in charge simply wish to be seen doing something rather than actually doing it."

She tutted and shook her head.

"You'd think people would learn," she said idly, "All lies come out eventually. This little attempt at PR will one day cause them more trouble than they ever imagined."

Paige gave a strangled laugh.

"What good does that do me?" she moaned, "Even if the truth does come out, I'm still stuck here!"

The Fairy Queen fixed her with a rather unnerving look.

"Perhaps," she said, "You know, you are not the first to be sent here on false grounds. Like you, I spoke with each of them to take their measure. Those that deserved it, I helped."

Paige frowned.

"Helped?" she asked, "Helped with what?"

Glaistig Uaine tilted her head on one side.

"To leave of course," she said, "Despite what Dragon thinks, I can leave here whenever I wish. I simply remain because its comfortable and their are plenty of interesting people."

Paiges mouth dropped open.

"But...how?!" she spluttered, "Not even Teleporters can get out of the Birdcage!"

Glaistig Uaine gave a thin smile.

"How is irrelevant," she said, "Whats important is what you want."

The Fairy Queen lent forwards.

"Tell me Paige Mcabee, do you want to leave this place?"

Paige stared at the much smaller Cape, her mouth opening and closes in disbelief.

"I...I don't want to be here," she said in a small voice, "Even with Lustrums protection, I don't think I'm going to last long. Anything would be better than dying in a place like this."

Glaistig Uaine searched Paige's face for a moment, before she nodded and got to her feet.

"Very well," said the Fairy Queen, "However, before I send you on, you should know that your life on Earth Bet is over. Still, your new home will be much more pleasant. Do give Death my regards."

Paige went white, but before she could even clench her legs to try and run, Glaistig Uaine waved a hand and the world went heliotrope.

 **Hmm, well, wasn't that an interesting ending? I know that I've probably jumped the gun slightly on Canary getting Caged, but Fanfiction and I couldn't wait to do this.**

 **Can I just say that teenage girls are a bitch and a half to write? Cus they are. Apparently Emma's a few sandwiches short of a picnic, but what else is new? To be honest, I'm still not sure what I'm going to do with her.**

 **My original idea involved a massive fight where Meister cut both Alabaster and Hookwolf down to size, but I decided that was to much to fast, Instead, I want to have them get a bit of experience dealing with petty crime before slicing up Hookwolf.**

 **Truthfully, I have no idea where that thing with Madison came from. It will be relevant later though. Just to be perfectly clear, Maddy is NOT a Witch and won't be becoming one. Shes a Parahuman with a Brute/Striker/Trump power that allows her to regenerate rapidly and grant others regeneration with a touch. Basically Kims Regeneration magic.**

 **Ohh, well isn't that interesting? Apparently either Ciara is even crazier than everyone thinks...or she can hop dimensions. She also apparently knows Death. Something tells me this won't end well…**

 **No Omake this time I'm afraid, mainly because I'm still trying to decide who deserves to be Excalibured more. Other than that, don't forget to leave a review!**


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